Kill Me With Kindness
by SnapCrackleSpock
Summary: Marceline the Vampire Queen had been away, traveling Ooo, for the longest time. She'd never had anything that tethered her to the small valley that she'd called home. But, when she meets the pink princess of a rising kingdom, what happens to all of that? (My views of what happened to Bonnie and Marci before Finn and Jake came along. Bubbline.)
1. Chapter 1

"La de dah dah dah." Marceline sang to herself as she watched the current speaker on the waffle stage from her place. She was uncomfortably sandwiched between two other girls at the breakfast castle. It was for one of those stupid 'princess council meetings' or whatever they were called. In her opinion, she shouldn't have been forced to suffer through listening to this. It was just one high maintenance girl complaining about that one flower that was planted in the wrong place or something of equal ridiculousness after another. She was Marceline, the Vampire _Queen_ after all. She wasn't something petty like a princess. If anything, she should at least be in charge of these meetings. Then _maybe_ they were required to attend would have _some_ significance.

Marceline hadn't attended one of the meetings -the PCM's as the most annoying of the girls likes to refer to them as- in forever. She'd been a bit preoccupied due to her traveling around the world. For a while it had been to look for the rest of the humans, to bring them to safety. But, after a while, that whole idea got a little bit lost to her. After the first month and a half it was just about her looking for the next grand adventure to go on. Eternal life was cool and everything, but it got a little boring after a while. There were only so many different combinations she could make with the four strings of her bass.

Her plans had worked out pretty well. She'd partied with some large fish, revived a previously extinct species known as Manatees, and partied _hard_ in the Fire Kingdom. But, in the end, all roads lead her back to home. She'd tried to avoid it as long as she could, but she still had some responsibilities as the Vampire Queen. She was technically supposed to be coming to these meetings monthly. But, after going A-wall for just over three years, she was finally threatened by one of the other princesses to come back. Besides, she had to take care of Simon. She'd left when he was going through a rough patch.

It was that stupid crown of his. Once he'd finally managed to take it off, Betty -his ex fiance- was long gone. Marceline would've felt awful if she hadn't been too wrapped up in running away from her problems. Well, more like floating away. After killing the Fool, she'd learned just how stupid walking really was. After all, why walk and do _work_ when you can just sit down and glide and still move faster? It's not like she was going to ever be unhealthy. When the Vampire King bit her, she was in near-peak condition for her age group. And, since she became immortal that day, that sort of thing was never going to change.

"Hey," Marceline whispered to the princess sitting to her left. They weren't anything close to a humanoid figure. More like the abstract art piece of a four year old. Instead of a body, whatever she was talking to had only a mass of a purple, floating cloud. "You got a pencil? I need something to stake myself with." Instead of a response the rude little cloud just rolled their eyes turned to face the other direction.

"Fine." Marceline scoffed, as if they were still listening. She'd given up on caring what other people thought. She'd realized just how futile it was to try to please everyone. Instead she was content with just living in her small little house on the edge of the Woods. It wasn't so bad. It's not like there were enough interesting people in Ooo to bother trying to get a house close enough to visit on a regular basis, anyway. Plus, the trees provided enough shade that the sun wasn't any sort of problem.

After a brief moment she saw something vaguely circular and orange slide across the desk. The desk in question sat one other person beside the rude little lump of space and Marceline. She looked to see who had given her the pencil, only to have her eyes attacked by a near obnoxious amount of pink. If only she hadn't been asleep for the first half hour of the Princess Council Meeting. She most definitely would've noticed this attack on her eyes before.

"Personally, I don't recommend staking yourself with this." The Pink Princess whispered to Marceline. She kept her eyes trained on the princess leading the group discussion from the front of the room, Marceline wasn't even sure she was blinking. "I'd try doing something that won't end up hurting yourself."

Marceline just stared at the princess in shock. The pink being to her right not only seemed nice -and not the nice that annoyed Marceline to no end, the good type of nice. She type of nice person that knew there were good people out there who were awful, personality wise. But then managed to triumph over them in every single way while still being humble about it.

Not only that, but she was ridiculously, stupidly adorable. Adorable in the way that kind of made Marceline want to pinch her cheeks and kind of made her want to do a few bad things.

"I wasn't." she said after a moment of careful silence. If there was any blood in her, Marceline was positive it would be rushing to her cheeks and giving her pale skin a blush. "Going to stake myself, I mean. I was just kidding about that. I just wanted something to draw with."

"You draw?" The princess asked her, this time turning to face the Vampire Queen fully. _Oh my Ooo,_ Marceline thought as she got her first good look at the princess from the front. _She isn't just adorable. She's actually crazy cute. What am I supposed to do now?!_

"Y-yeah." Marceline stuttered. And then she cursed herself for stuttering. And then cursed herself for taking to long to continue because she was mentally cursing herself. "I mean, yeah. I doodle a bit. Nothing big and fancy." _Smooth, Marcy. Real smooth._

"I appreciate a good doodle." The princess laughed but didn't. _How was that even possible?_ Marceline asked herself. How did this girl convey the fact that she was laughing without even laughing? Was it just the way she spoke?

"I'm Marceline." She held her hand out to shake, finally regaining her cool, relaxed vibe she loved so much to come across as.

"Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum."

"That's too long," Marceline decided then and there. It was a lie. It wasn't too long at all. In fact, Marceline thought that it rolled off the tongue rather nicely and had a sweet little ring to it. Like the world's tinkly-est of bells. Marceline thought it was rather nice just the way it was. But she wanted to keep the conversation going. "You need something shorter."

"Because Marceline the Vampire Queen isn't _any_ more complicated to say." The pink princess responded, making Marceline like her all the more. If there was one thing that could make the vampire swoon it was someone with a sharp tongue and sharper wit. It was ironic, she noted, that someone who looked so innocent and sweet had a sarcastic nature to her. And it was far from a bad thing. Marceline loved it.

"Well," she arched one of her thin, black brows, "If you let me give you a nickname I'll let you shorten mine, too." That was a good start, right? That was something that didn't make her sound like a complete doofus, right? _Right?_

"That sounds like something that people who don't really know each other wouldn't do." The Princess tilted her head to the side, her hair falling as she moved. Wait a second? Was that _gum_? Was her hair actually made out of _gum_?

"Then maybe we should get to know each other a little bit more." Marceline smiled, her fangs exposed just slightly. "That way it wouldn't be all that weird."

"And just how would we do that?" The princess asked, though she was smiling too. Glob, even her smile was perfect. It was like her teeth were attracting the sunlight that filtered in through the dried-syrup windows. It was radiant.

"How does blowing off this meeting for some well deserved lunch sound? I don't know about you but I'm not much of a breakfast person. Not enough options, you know?"

"I think that you're hitting the nail right on the head. I've got a bit of a sweet tooth, and breakfast doesn't do much of anything for that." She giggled again and began to place the stack of papers she had inside her bag.

"Oh my Glob just leave already!" The purple being to Marceline's left shouted. This, unfortunately caused the princesses sitting around them to cast disapproving glances in their direction. With that, Marceline and Princess Bubblegum ducked out of room, trying to draw as little attention to themselves as possible.


	2. Chapter 2

"This is where you live?" Princess Bubblegum asked as Marceline held open the door to her small house in a true gentle-lady fashion. The Vampire didn't know what to make of that comment, she rather liked her house. Sure, it was no kingdom with hundreds of subjects, but it was perfect for Marceline. It was big enough to be spacious, but not so big that she couldn't manage it herself. And it had a sort of retro feeling to it, one that reminded her of her life before the Mushroom War. "Where's the rest of your kingdom?"

"I don't have one." She shrugged and let the door fall shut. She floated casually over to her fridge, opening it to find something to eat. Finally, she decided on a large bowl of strawberries. She knew a guy from the Berry Kingdom, and he supplied her with the juiciest, reddest strawberries in all Ooo.

"But you were at the Princess meeting." Bubblegum questioned, plucking one of the fruits from the bowl and taking a seat on the red, soft couch. Marceline never used it. It was more of an aesthetic thing. But it was nice to see the old thing get some use after all these years.

"Well, yeah." She nodded and hovered above the cushions. "I am Marceline the Vampire _Queen_ after all. And then my dad's King of the Nightosphere, so I'll inherit that if he ever croaks. But honestly? I'm not all that into the kingdom thing. Too much tying me down, you know? I'd rather just travel and make music whenever I feel the whim. I was never a huge fan of staying in one place."

"I'm quite the opposite." Bonnibel shrugged and ate another strawberry. Even as she did that, she still managed to have such a gentle aspect to her. "My kingdom is just starting out, and I cherish each and everyone of my citizens. The kingdom is still being built, and everyone is lending a hand to help. I find it fascinating, the way that citizens will band together to achieve a common goal if put under the correct amount of pressure."

"You certainly are something else, Bonnibel." Marceline snickered before draining the red from her strawberry. "Bonnibel . . . I still think that's too long. Are we close enough for nicknames, or do you need to know my tragic backstory, too?"

"I think that a good personal story could never hurt a growing relationship." Bonnibel pointed out. _Relationship?_ Marceline thought. _Did she say relationship? Did she mean it in the way I hope she meant it or am I reading way too much into this?_

"Well, you asked for it." Marceline sighed. It had been the longest time she'd talked to anyone about this, and the last time she did it wasn't even with someone who could respond. She'd discussed it in-depth with one of the flying fish she'd met on her travels. "Before I left, which was a long time ago, a lot of bad stuff happened. My friend, my protector, kind of skipped town on me. He lives all alone-"

"He's not the only one." Bonnibel laughed lightly before silencing again to let Marceline continue.

"And doesn't even remember who I am. Who _he_ is. And I was hurting because of that. I ran with the wrong people. I made some bad decisions. My boyfriend," Was it just her imagination, or did Marceline see Princess Bubblegum's face fall a little at that word? "Ash, was a huge jerk. And, I mean a huge one. He was one of those awful pigs that never treat anyone right and make me never want to date again." It wasn't her imagination. Bonnibel's facial expression definitely changed after she said that.

"You don't seem like the type of person who would let that sort of thing affect you." The princess pointed out. She had a point. Marceline wasn't that type of person. Not any more, at least. She'd decided that she finally needed to shut down that part of her heart, the part that made her sad about other people being stupid. It wasn't her job to take care of others. That was what they were supposed to do for themselves. That was what she was supposed to do for herself.

"I like to think that I'm not that type of person."

There was a moment of tense silence between the two of them, one eating strawberries and the other draining the life out of them.

"I think that I should get going." Bonnibel said after their moment of quiet. She got up and made her way to the door, pausing for a moment to glance back at Marceline. "I would like to come over again, though. I thought that this was rather fun. Something that I wouldn't mind continuing." And, with that, she walked out the door . . .

Only to stick her head back in one second later and add, "Oh, and feel free to call me Bonnie any time you want."


	3. Chapter 3

_Bonnie._ Marceline let the thought roll over in her head for the dozenth time that day. _Bonnie Bubblegum_. That name was just so . . . So . . .

Perfect.

Every single thing about her was just so perfect. From the way that her dress lay perfectly on her that it made it look wonderful too the way that her skin, her gummy skin, was just shiny enough to make her look like she glittered in the sunlight. How was that for sick irony? Marceline couldn't step into the sun without burning and Bonnibel couldn't without turning into some sort of sparkling goddess. Glob, this was going to gnaw away at Marceline until she inevitably just imploded from it all.

She fingered her bass mindlessly, letting the randomness of her actions find a pattern and then stick to it. And once they'd found it she subconsciously began humming. Before she even knew what was happening, the words were just tumbling out of her mouth. She had no control over them, no filter. All she could do was watch as if it were someone else singing.

" **Sorry that I exist, I can't believe you landed on my list. But I shouldn't have to make up excuses just to see you. So . . . Why do I want to? Why do I want to?"**

Everything about this was weird. She hadn't been in a relationship since . . . Since Ash. And that was one path that she _never_ wanted to walk down again. He was a plague to her, a parasite that still lingered in the back of her mind, soaking up any happiness it could. He'd ruined her, ruined everything.

She didn't want to be scared any more. She didn't want to have that nagging voice in the back of her head always saying things like 'you'll never find love!', 'you'll be alone forever!', 'nobody needs you, Marceline.'

The problem was, it wasn't just any random voice, either. It was Ash's, and she knew it was his because she could still hear him shouting those things at her whenever he got angry. And he got angry quick and often.

"Nothing!" He'd shouted at her one night. It had been a month before they'd finally broken up, and two before she'd left to travel Ooo. He had been living in her house at that point, making her sleep in the living room so that he could have the small bed to himself. "That's what you are, Marceline. You're nothing and you'll never be anything more!"

The fight had been in the living room, and Marceline could still feel the slap on her cheek as if it had been freshly delivered. She had a lot of power, and could most likely kill a man in a heartbeat, but she hadn't explored that until recently.

With Ash, he'd told her that her power made her a freak, as if her demon origins didn't do that already. He'd told her time and time again that if she'd ever left him nobody would pity her enough to love her because nobody could love a monster. He'd justified himself by saying that if people could see that a simple mortal could harm her the people of Ooo wouldn't be as afraid of her.

Now she thrived on their fear. Their horror was her pleasure and their screams were almost as sweet as music. Seeing their faces contort into looks of terror gave her satisfaction. Almost the same level of satisfaction she'd felt when she'd finally stood up for herself and forced Ash out of her life.

With every scream she felt like she was hurting him. Like she was weakening him in the same way he'd weakened her until she felt broken.

But then there was Bonnibel. Bonnibel, who didn't look like she could hurt a fly.

Through her thousand years, Marceline had learned one simple fact: everyone has the power to hurt you. Every single person in Ooo has the power to break you apart, piece by piece. That's not just in the physical sense. Emotionally, everyone is equal. If you let them in, if you give them the power to hold your heart in their hands, the chances are they'll crush it. It might not even be on purpose. Instead of squeezing on your heartstrings they might just drop it and watch it shatter. The possibilities are endless but the outcome is always the same. It always ends with Marceline lying broken and on the floor, with nobody but herself to fix her.

That's what happened when her mother died. That's what happened when Simon left. That's what happened when her father was never there in the first place. That's what's been happening from the moment Ash stepped into her life. So, if everything logical told Marceline _no, don't even try. Don't even try to go after Princess Bubblegum because it always ends the same and it won't be any different so why even bother?_

And yet, there she was. Outside of the walls of the Candy Kingdom with a bouquet of white roses (well, previously red roses) like a total dweeb.


End file.
